Wednesday, January 25, 2006

End of another boring Test match

The 2nd Test match between India and Pakistan at Faislabad met with the similar results as that of the 1st Test match at Lahore - a boring draw. Pitches in Pakistan this time have been just plain bad. It has been a nightmare for bowlers and a paradise for batsmen. Quality bowlers such as Harbhajan Singh, Shoaib Akhtar, Kumble have all struggled on the lifeless pitches - Harbhajan is yet to pick up a wicket in this series! On the other hand, the batsmen have just made merry and in all, we already have had 12 centuries in this series and that says quite a bit indeed of the state of pitches.

The caravan now shifts to Karachi for the 3rd Test match and all eyes naturally will be on the state of the pitch. I think, India will hold an advantage going into the 3rd Test because:

Whenever Pakistan has posted a huge score, India has given a fitting riposte to that, thereby nullifying any advantage that Pakistan might have gained.

Pakistan seamers were supposed to do more harm than the docile Indian seamers - however, Shoaib has yet to make any significant mark in this series. He has only 1 wicket to show and that too because Sachin decided to walk when he was actually not out! On the other hand, Indian seamers such as R.P.Singh and Zaheer Khan have bowled quite impressively and managed to trouble the Pakistan batsmen. Pathan has bowled well in patches though no where near to his best.

Hopefully, the 3rd Test match will bring up a result. Another draw such as the 1st two will take away all the excitement of an India-Pakistan Test encounter.